General Summary of the Position

Reporting to Director of Development, the Senior Development Officer will serve as a frontline fundraiser managing the process of identifying, cultivating, and soliciting lead and principle level gifts from individuals, corporations, and foundations. The Senior Development Officer will maintain a personal portfolio of donors and prospects who have the capacity to make annual gifts of $50,000 and higher. The Senior Development Officer must be a highly energetic professional with a track record of building donor relationships and securing gifts in the six-figure and seven-figure range. The Sr. Development Officer will manage development professionals as assigned.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities of the Position

·         Collaborate with the development team in building a culture of Christian stewardship and philanthropy while advancing the Diocesan priorities.

·         Develop/nurture existing and prospective donor relationships.

·         Evaluate major gift prospects to cultivate new gifts from individuals.

·         Create a donor portfolio with appropriate individualized donor pipelines and donor strategies including identifying strategies to renew and increase giving from current donors.

·         Strengthen the successful implementation of the Diocese of Dallas annual development plan.

·         Facilitate the implementation of donor giving plans, including the direct solicitation of gifts and submission of proposals to individuals, corporations, and foundations.

·         Assist in the Diocesan stewardship efforts that offer parishes the ability to establish a program allowing an engaged, financially stable and spiritual community.

·         Work collaboratively with pastor and other parish staff along with other diocesan offices and ministries when appropriate to support parishes with successful stewardship and capital fund-raising strategies and goals.

·         Support the Director of Development as needed and perform other duties as assigned.

Position Requirements

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

– An understanding of Christian stewardship and supports and upholds the mission of the Gospel and the Catholic Church by modeling the teachings of the Catholic Church.
– A commitment to the cultivation and stewardship of donors and prospective donors
– Candidate must enjoy engaging with people both professionally and socially.
– Ability to understand the needs and interests of leadership and major gifts donors in order to develop relationships between them and the Diocese.
– Demonstrated leadership and the ability to successfully manage multi-functional areas.
– Successful experience in making cold calls as well as developing cultivation and solicitation strategies.
– Must have excellent interpersonal skills, be detailed-oriented, and have a high level of initiative with strong communication, organization and people skills.
– A knowledge of how best to utilize/maximize/analyze prospect research.
– Be well-versed in fundraising analytics and systems management.

Education and Experience:

– Bachelor’s degree, required.
– Successful experience in major gift fundraising, required.
– Capital Campaign experience, highly preferred.
– Excellent computer skills required (Excel, MS Word, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Adobe Acrobat).

Special Requirements:

– Practicing Roman Catholic in good standing, required.
– Bilingual, English/Spanish, highly preferred but not required.
– Experience with donor databases, including Blackbaud’s Raiser’s Edge NXT, preferred
– Some travel may be required.
– Occasional work in the evening and weekends relating to events, donor engagement, etc., will be required but typically scheduled well in advance.
 

Physical Requirements Specific to the Job:

·         N/A